Verses of Qur’an About the State of Perfected Character, Ihsan
Those were some of the verses addressing the discipline of Tazkiyyat an-Nafs, purification of the self. Now we wish to quote some of the verses addressing the state of Ihsan. We are not yet quoting the very important hadith, in which Jibril (as) asked about Ihsan in Umm ul-Hadith in Bukhari. Ihsan is mentioned in Holy Qur’an in many places and we will mention some of them here:
“Inna rahmatullahi qareebun min al-muhsineen.” (al-‘Aaraaf, 56)
“For the Mercy of God is near to those who are good (muhsineen)”
and,
“Inna-Allaha ma’a-alladheena ‘ttaqaw wal-ladheena hum muhsinoon” (Nahl, 128)
“For Allah is with those who restrain themselves and who are good.”
and
“hal jaza’ ul-ihsani illa al-ihsan” (Rahman, 60)
“is there any reward for Goodness other than Good?”
[the word Ihsan, translated here as Good or goodness, is not adequately conveyed by these English terms, as it is a much more comprehensive meaning.]
and
“wa yajzilladhee ahsanu bil-husna” (Najm, 31)
“and He rewards those who do good with what is best.”
All of us have memorized the verse, read at every khutbat il-Juma‘:
“Inna-Allaha yaa’muru bil-‘adli wal-ihsaani wa ‘eeta’i dhil qurba…” (Nahl, 90)
“Allah command justice, the doing of good [ihsan], and giving to kith and kin and he forbids all indecent deeds and evil and rebellion: He instructs you that you may receive admonition.”
and the verse:
“balaa man aslama wahahahu lillahi wa hua muhsinun falahu ajrahu ‘inda Rabbihi” (Baqara, 112)
“nay, whoever who submits his whole self to Allah and is a Muhsin (in the state of Ihsan), his reward is with His Lord, on those shall be no fear nor shall they grieve”
and
“wa man yuslim wajhahu il-Allahi wa hua muhsinun faqad astamsaka bil-‘urwatul-wuthqa” (Luqman, 21)
“whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is in a state of Ihsan has grasped indeed the firmest handhold, and to Allah will all things return.”
and
“wa man ahsanu deenan mimman aslama wajhahu lillahi wa hua muhsinun” (Nis’a, 125)
“who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to Allah and does good in the way that Allah likes …”
